The great SDS swindle

As demand for capacity surges, and storage threatens to become a bottleneck, businesses are being forced to look for new solutions that can cover both. The confusion has accelerated uptake of Cloud services which are supposed to be a quick and simple answer to the problem.

Persistent concerns about security and data sovereignty however, means that the Cloud is not suitable for every application, no matter what Cloud vendors say. Which is why Software Defined Storage – SDS – is gaining so much attention. By abstracting storage management from the underlying hardware infrastructure, businesses gain far greater control of their information assets for instance.

More importantly still, SDS allows a business to build their storage infrastructure using equipment form any vendor – including their own existing post warranty hardware. Redeploying redundant systems allows the CTO to realise an additional one to three years from their storage investments for instance, greatly reducing the total cost of ownership for their data storage expansion project.

This flexibility of infrastructure and improved cost management means that SDS allows CTOs to realise many of the benefits of the Cloud and to retain complete control of every asset. If they can break their OEM’s stranglehold.

The OEM SDS con

Realizing that SDS presents a significant threat to their historic grip on homogenous datacenters, OEMs have been quick to try and complicate matters for their customers. Some have even gone as far as repackaging their existing management platforms as an SDS-compliant solution – but one that can only be run on their own hardware.

This approach means that more cautious CTOs are being locked in to OEM platforms by stealth, undoing all the cost and flexibility benefits of SDS in the process. The cost of using an OEM-defined CDS controlled platform is exponentially more expensive than a true CDS infrastructure.

Avoiding the OEM pitfall

Because SDS remains relatively new, many are confused about the actual constraints of the technology. But by turning to their OEM partners they are unlikely to receive the unbiased advice they need.

Here at CDS we are completely independent, supporting a wide range of hardware from multiple vendors. And because we don’t sell hardware, you can be sure that our advice is completely impartial, focused on your data needs, not our volume margins.

You can also be sure that we will advise where and how your post warranty assets can be redeployed as part of an SDS environment for maximum return on investment. Our post warranty and EoSL support and maintenance services allow you to extend the operational lifespan of storage hardware at significantly lower cost than your OEM will offer. And our vastly experienced, OEM-trained engineers deliver a more personalized standard of support too.

Call CDS today to discuss your SDS infrastructure plans and how our maintenance and support costs will give you the cover and flexibility your strategy demands – for far less than your OEM will charge.